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January 4, 2013

OPI Mariah Carey Studio Shades!

Base: one coat Zoya Get Even
Color: three coats OPI A Butterfly Moment
Top: one coat Seche Vite
Application: good (out of poor, average, good, excellent)

I've been pretty excited about the OPI and Mariah Carey collaboration since the very first time I heard about it. I have a secret love of Mariah Carey, and I thought the liquid sand polishes were an awesome idea. I wasn't really expecting to love any of the "Studio Shades" (the tamer polishes of the collection), but I tried them today and am changing my tune. I started with OPI A Butterfly Moment, a nude pink with golden shimmer. In a shocking twist of events, I really wanted to stop swatching right there and just wear this. It is really gorgeous on my skin tone! This may be the most flattering nude I own, I think due to the golden, almost coppery, shimmer.

A Butterfly Moment was nicely opaque in two coats, nearly in one. I did a third because I had a visible brushstroke on my middle nail, but you can still see it a bit. The other three nails escaped that fate, so I think as long as you apply this carefully, you can avoid having a lot of visible brushstrokes. I'm writing this post on New Year's Eve day, so clearly I have to wear glitter tonight, but as soon as NYE is over, I'm going to wear this for a nice palette cleanser!

OPI Anti-Bleak is a red-purple creme, kind of like the spring-ier version of OPI Casino Royale. It's slightly less vampy, more red-based and less deep purple. I have a comparison for you below. Anti-Bleak is a gorgeous color and a nice pick for spring if you are a pastel hater, like myself.

Anti-Bleak has a supreme formula. Really really nice and practically does the painting for you. It was opaque in two coats.

Below on the left is OPI Casino Royale, on the right is OPI Anti-Bleak. If you are an OPI fanatic or really really like purple polish, you may feel you need both. For many people, one of these will be enough. I personally can not decide which one I would part with (can't get rid of Casino Royale, that's one of my fave JB movies! But I love Mariah! But Casino is vampier! But Anti-Bleak is better for spring! and so on). So I'll probably end up keeping both. And someday appearing on "Nail Polish Hoarders".

In case you were worried about me when I said I loved A Butterfly Moment, I am also obsessing over OPI Pink Yet Lavender! Pink Yet Lavender is a cool mix of pink hex glitter, lavender small glitter, and small holo glitter. The holo glitter REALLY makes this look amazing!

This is two coats of Pink Yet Lavender. It was nice and easy to apply, no dabbing or messing around needed! Gotta love those kinds of glitter toppers when you're in a rush, but want some sparkle. I want to try this over black next to really bring out the holo glitter.

OPI Sprung is the Studio Shade I was most looking forward to. Sprung is one of those shimmer polishes where you can see each individual shimmer particle if you look closely. Almost like shimmer flakes. It's a nice coppery color overall and you can see that it's kind of a mix of copper, gold, and pink shimmer flecks. It reminded me of a more copper and pink OPI Warm and Fozzie (Warm and Fozzie is much more brown). I always loved Warm and Fozzie, so this is fine by me!

This is three coats of Sprung, and I experienced the polish looking a little sheer on the tips of my nails. It was pretty opaque in three coats, but you may just want to concentrate some extra polish by your tips.

Overall, I am more interested in the Studio Shades than I thought I would be. I (oddly, for me) can't wait to wear A Butterfly Moment, I (predictably) love Pink Yet Lavender, and Sprung is gorgeous, as I knew it would be! I like Anti-Bleak as well and it has a fantastic formula, but your need for it may depend on what else you have in your collection. I can't wait to try the Stage Shades, hopefully I'll have those posted soon!

Mariah Carey by OPI nail lacquers contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde, and feature OPI’s exclusive ProWide™ Brush for the ultimate in application. These polishes are available now at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each nail lacquer.

5 comments:

Haha, I would probably enjoy watching a show called "Polish Hoarders". I'd be excited to check out their stash LOL! Crazy!! But yes, Anti-Bleak is super pretty and different from Casino Royale, so I do need both!